Whee

Rose has got Airport, so I'm no longer tied to my slow as dial-up connection. I might have to do some experiments to see how far it reaches - e.g. whether it gets down to the walkway. Be good to be able to sit down in the sun during summertime if it does.

I took some hideously overdue books back to the library after work today, and gave them their blood money to get my card working again. I've got some idiot's guide to Dreamweaver out and will have a go at revamping the old website.

Colon

Maybe you need to've worked as an editor for the PCO to find this funny:

WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand's lawmakers came up with a definition of the colon that will have dictionary founder Samuel Johnson turning in his grave while delighting the most pedantic.
Parliament is consolidating tax law and heard complaints from experts that they were uncertain what that particular punctuation mark meant in the proposed legislation.

Helpfully parliament's finance and expenditure select committee issued this guide:

"The colon is essentially intended to be interpreted as an indication that the statements in the items are not linked conjunctively or disjunctively, that is, it would not be appropriate to link them with either an 'and' or an 'or'," said the advice.

"In some instances, each statement in a list that is punctuated with colons may apply independently, without relying on the operation of the statements in the other items.

"If the items are statements representing pre-conditions for a statutory result, the effect of linking the items with colons is that the result will follow if one or more of the pre-conditions are satisfied.

"If such items were linked with 'and', the result would follow where all the items were satisfied. If the items were linked with 'or', the result would follow where only one item but no more than one item was satisfied."

Got that?

The Oxford Dictionary defines the colon as punctuation "to mark antithesis, illustration, quotation or listing."

Fowler's Modern English Usage provides a witty and small essay on the colon and defines its special function thus: "That of delivering the goods that have been invoiced in the preceding words."

Sorted

I came home today to find that Rose had cleared out the garage while I was at work. I've now got a whole lot more room, which is really good. It means I can have a few more things on the go at once, and can even start to think about doing some big stuff.

I've also got to get round to updating my goddamn website. Pity I'm such a lazy sod.

Something else to look at

Flash

Oh yeah, Matt's got a flash new-look website. I'm resisting the temptation to be drawn into an arms' race. I'd only lose.

Not dead yet

Just a quick post to let you know I'm not dead yet. I've been going out fairly often and haven't had much of a chance to sit down at the old computer. I've got a ridiculous amount of email to troll through as well.

This has meant that you've been spared my highly detailed (not to mention witty, entertaining, and informative) comments on Jenin Jenin at the Date Palms Film Festival, the Rob McLeod opening, the Andrew McLeod opening (no relation), the silly cartoony drawings I've been doing, and sundry other things.

Oh well.

Painting

I've had a fairly successful weekend. I've got my studio sorted out enough to work in, and now have five new Skeleton Guys in various stages of completion.

Whee

I'm a bit pissed, as I have been the last few nights. I've been a bit busy to get around to updating this bollocksing thing, but here goes.

News update: I got a rejection phone call from the old job appo I put in late last week - didn't take them long to decide they didn't even want to shortlist me, the bastards. On top of this I lost track of the days and completely failed to get my Wallace application in. Damnit, I would've been keen to see how one of the Skeleton Guys got on.

Apart from that the last week's memorable perhaps only for work bullshit. It's the first time since I've started this job that I've got really seriously pissed off with it. Up until now the dreadful unprofessionalism of the place has been more funny than anything else. But now the novelty's worn off and it's beginning to get me down.

(Hmm, now that I'm a bit pissed and uninhibited I wonder whether I should spill some of the great PCO gossip I've got? Unfortunately I can't be fucked.)

We've finally got paintings up on the walls. Rose got this guy round to do it, and he did a really good job. They look really good. In previous houses, I haven't put my own stuff up on to the walls, but this time I thought I would - see how they look next to other people's.

Off into the ether

Well, the old job appo is off into the ether, come what may. It'd be really good if I got it. The old Corro School is lots of fun, but it's only till the end of the year. A permanent part-time gig would suit me much better. There's certain aspects of the job that'd be really interesting as well.

I haven't done my Wallace thing yet. That's next.

Sick

I've been home sick yesterday and today, lying around on various bits of furniture, feeling crappy, and reading The Prehistory of the Mind. I'd been out both Monday and Tuesdsay evenings. There was an opening at Chris Moore's (Ans Westra photos) and Bowen (Paul Rayner) on Monday night. Tuesday was a John Walsh opening at Janne's followed by a Krazy Lounge interlude before Michael's birthday drinks at the Matterhorn. I think I was feeling run down on Tuesday night, and getting to work in the howling wind and rain on Wednesday morning put me over the edge.

It's a bit of a bastard cos I've got a couple of appos to put together: one's for a boring job and the other's Wallace time again. I've put something in the last couple of years, so I might as well again, even though they'll just tell me where to go once more.